Reflection Paper 2

Jhon Leinard M.
Agcaoili
BSA 1-16
REFLECTION PAPER 2
The first thing that came to my mind during the lesson was free will. It is a perfect fit for
the topic that was discussed and this what I am elaborating in this reflection paper. Aristotle said
that man is a rational animal. I agree, but is that rationality predetermined or chosen by us and us
alone? I will be explaining both sides of the argument (with no bias) because in my own honest
opinion, I do not know if free will does or does not exist.
YES, IT DOES EXIST:
Yes, there is a concept of free will. Consider moral behavior. These behaviors are either
unintentional, caused by someone else, or caused by oneself. To begin with, there is no such
thing as an uncaused action. If this is accurate, it goes against the basic rational notion that
everything happens for a reason. Second, no one may be held responsible for another's acts. If
that were the case, they would not be considered "personal" behaviors, would they? How could
anyone be held accountable for their acts if something else was constantly to blame?
Moral actions are the result of one's own actions. They are not uncaused or caused by
someone else. They are not arbitrary or determined by someone else. When one has the option to
do something else, it is always a freely decided act. Only if there had free will to avoid making
the choice is one liable for it. All accountability entails the power to react. This personal duty is
destroyed by determinism.
Determinism, on the other hand, shows to be untrue. It is self-defeating to deny that some
activities can be free. It is a self-inflicted wound. If you are a thorough determinist who follows
argument to its conclusion, you must insist that both determinists and nondeterminists be
committed to their beliefs. Determinists, on the other hand, believe self-determinists are incorrect
and should change their minds. However, the phrase "ought to change" implies the ability to
change. This is incompatible with determinism.
C.S. Lewis also shown that for determinism to be real, there must be a reasonable
foundation for their beliefs. If determinism is correct, however, there is no rational basis for
reasoning because everything is dictated by nonrational causes. As a result, determinism must be
untrue if it claims to be true.
FREE WILL IS MEH:
It is not there. At least not in the hyper-individualistic way it is frequently portrayed.
Humans are affected to be quite different from one another based on who they interact
with, sleep with, what section of the planet they are born in, and what traumatic life experiences
transpired in their early ages. An average person from Swaziland, for example, will make
decisions based on culturally impacted personal preferences, which will differ from those of
someone from in the Philippines.
There is nothing universal about the decisions we humans make together. Someone with
social anxiety will have a much harder time approaching an extremely gorgeous female and
starting a conversation with her than someone who is friendly and outgoing. The extroverted
person, in the standard framing of the free will dilemma, is making judgments based on his
personal preferences. The nervous person's decisions, on the other hand, will be influenced by
his exterior situation of anxiety.
What about exogenous impacts based on the epoch in which you live? Women on the
Indonesian island of Bali used to wander around bare chested in ordinary situations 150 years
ago. Breast displays did not have any sexual connotations at all. Women used to sell products in
the markets while wearing only fabric below their waists. But as the Victorian era's larger effects
spread, the idea that exposing one's breasts in public had a sexual connotation began to take hold.
And, of course, ladies now conceal their breasts.
If our decisions were truly autonomous, why would women in Bali wear so freely a
century ago as opposed to now, when their choices have evolved with time? Our thoughts,
interests, and even morals are shaped by the broader range of belief systems that exist in the
community around us. In conclusion actual free will does not exist, we do not have it.

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Jhon Leinard M.

YES, IT DOES EXIST:

FREE WILL IS MEH:

It is not there. At least not in the hyper-individualistic way it is frequently portrayed.

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